PISTE UP

Feature

Unfasten those bindings and stick a shot in the chocolat chaud. Après-ski connoisseur Matt Barr reports on the nine resorts where a night on the tiles this season means more than schnapps and fondue

Festival on ice

MERIBEL, FRANCE
Fly to Grenoble (Lyon) from East Midlands, Liverpool and 5 other destinations across the Ryanair network
Meribel has long had the reputation as an Alpine party stronghold. Some romantics reckon toffee vodka, that staple of the ski week piss up, was invented here one fateful, moonlit night. Certainly, a holiday here wouldn’t be complete without necking a bottle of said loopy juice while dancing around in your ski boots to a covers band at Le Rond Point.

Little wonder then that livers across Europe are cowering at the prospect of the Altitude Festival (5–20 April, www.altitudefestival.com). Pitched as a snowy version of the Edinburgh Festival, it’s being headed up by Marcus Brigstocke, with a whole host of other great comedians on the bill. Add bands, DJs, the huge Three Valleys ski area to get stuck into during the day and you have quite a combustible mix. Light the touchpaper, and stand well back.

Ski me to the moon

LA CLUSAZ, FRANCE
Also fly to Grenoble (Lyon) Like all good ideas, the genius of this one lies in its simplicity, and it is difficult to understand why this hasn’t caught on in every ski resort across the world. On the night of each full moon at the height of the season (the next two are 22 February and 30 March), La Clusaz’s lifts open from 9.30pm to 1am, allowing the intrepid to experience the unique thrill of moonlit skiing down the main Crêt du Merle piste, and several others. The whole concept is inspired by Thailand’s legendary full moon parties, and predictably enough the whole affair takes a more debauched turn as the evening progresses, with ice bars, live bands, cold fingers and more than a few glasses of vin chaud to warm them up